Island Hopping

We left Anafi for Naxos which I thought would be more of a ferry hub but learned we would have to continue on to Syros, which lies in the wrong direction, to get a ferry to Patmos (our next small isle excursion). It was a $50 mistake but was made with the best thinking at the time and with little information obtained in the one-man Anafi ferry office.

I can’t say it more plainly: Naxos sucks. Our first 5 interactions with the locals (albeit in the tourist industry) have been negative and we just want out of here but are forced to stay the night. And as we are totally sick of Greek food, we threw caution to the wind (along with our credit card) and went to a Tex Mex restaurant for fajitas, burritos, chips & salsa. Totally hit the spot!

The next day we took a mid-day ferry to Syros to endure the long wait for a 10:40pm ferry and had the exact opposite experience. Everyone nice. Welcoming. Smiling. Spent the day pleasantly in the cafes and walking around the town.

The ferry boat arrived and was gigantic. Like a cruise ship. We got 4 comfy chairs to push together (but not quite as suitable as beds) to spend the next 4 hours trying to get some shut eye before arriving in Patmos. The loud growl and undulations of the engine were termed by Ron as an endless minor earthquake that made sleep frustrating and virtually impossible.

We got to Patmos at 3am and with the expensive ferries had to forgo a room for the night. So we walked in search of a place to crash until morning and found a childrens playground in which to be temporary vagrants. The small curve of the arch of the bridge we slept on offering another challenge to get comfortable, compressing hip bones and backs to sore masses of flesh. We tossed and turned and grunted. Sitting up at 5am to eat half a bag of cheetohs (the highlight of the night) and finally getting an hour of sleep before the birds awoke and roosters crowed to signal a new day. Who-Hooooo-Who.

Ugh.